Hey creators!

The weeks this summer have been flying and I have no idea how we’re almost in mid-August… Anyone else?

No big updates in my world this week, so let’s jump into the latest in creator economy news!

-Luke

What’s Actually Going on with X? 🤔 

Izea is back at it again with another killer breakdown of X’s (Twitter’s) analytics since the social giant made one of the biggest rebranding plays in recent history.

For the uninitiated (hi Mom and Dad!), social media giant, Twitter, has recently rebranded under the name ‘X,’ leaving the world confused by yet another questionable move made by Elon Musk.

There are only going to be a few points covered here, but these were my biggest takeaways:

• Just under half (44%) of those using social media platforms regularly have been active on a Twitter account over the last 12 months.

• Almost 67% of active users active check their feed daily while almost 39% of the same group are tweeting daily.

• Users between the ages of 45-60 are the most likely to pay for Twitter Blue (honestly I’m so confused, are we calling it “X Blue” now?). 😂

• Well over half (56%) of those who have deleted their accounts tie Elon Musk’s presence to their decision to leave the platform.

I kind of wish this report dove deeper into the ties between rebranding and user sentiment, so I’m going to ask you readers to give me your takes!

How has your Twitter usage changed since the transition to the new brand? Has it changed at all? Are you using it more or less? Let me know by replying to this email for a potential feature next week!

Creator Economy News 🚨

This week in the creator world, AI is going to tell potential viewers about your video, streamer Kai Cenat causes a riot in NYC, Meta is cutting news in Canada, the Tide pod challenge is back in a new way, you can pay to have people forget that you paid for a checkmark on Twitter, and more. This week in creator economy news:

• I’m sure you guys have seen the riot caused by streamer Kai Cenat in NYC. Well, if you haven’t New York native Cenat announced that he would be giving away PS5s last Friday. With around 10k attendees, things quickly spiraled out of control. Kai will be charged with first-degree rioting, a felony, as well as inciting a riot and unlawful assembly.

• YouTube knows that you have no attention span, so they’re rolling out AI-generated summaries of videos. Why watch a video when you can have a robot just tell you what it’s about?! Jokes aside though, this could either work for or against certain creators, especially on more nuanced video ideas.

• Meta wants to be cheap and doesn’t see the value that publishers bring to the platform, so Facebook and IG are set to cut news access throughout Canada. “We believe that news has a real social value. The problem is that it doesn’t have much of an economic value to Meta,” - Rachel Curran, head of public policy for Meta Canada.

• I’m only writing about this ONCE. MrBeast has been countersued by the company running his burger “restaurants” for over $100M…. Now that’s a big oof!

• Google taps UMG to start attempts of monetizing AI-generated music, giving the original artist some kickback from any songs generated using their voice.

You should see these 👀

• The children are eating Tide pods… again…. kinda. A new challenge has arisen on TikTok of people eating a chemical called ‘Borax,’ (commonly found in laundry detergent). Challenge partakers claim that Borax has medicinal benefits when in reality, it just sends you to the hospital. The takeaway? MrBeast needs a detergent-flavored Feastable.

• Remember when everyone was making fun of people who were verified on Twitter because they had to pay for it? Well not anymore, now you can pay to HIDE your verified check. Something is off here…

• Guinness World Records is going after creators for using their logos in thumbnails. The worst part? This can give you a "Copywrite Strike” on your YouTube channel, and three of those will lead to you losing your channel completely. Ludwig dives much deeper into the surprisingly “dark” world of GWR in the first video linked in this section - def worth a watch!

• Here’s a Short that gave me a good chuckle. Tell me that this isn’t the epitome of most apology videos. I’m just surprised she didn’t bust out the ukulele.

• Call Her Daddy’s very own Alex Cooper is starting up a talent agency of her own in collaboration with her fiancé and has begun signing on some creators.

• Don’t want suggested videos on YouTube? Just turn off your watch history. YouTube announces that they will no longer suggest videos to users who have turned off their history.

Creator Spotlight 🔦

Meet Leonard Logsdail AKA Aquatic Apes!

As a big fan of all types of angling, when I found Aquatic Apes I was immediately hooked (speared?). Catching big fish in Indonesia is the name of Leonard’s game and he does it better than most.

Diving at depths over 100 feet to spear fish that weigh over 150 lbs is no easy feat, but Leonard makes this sport look easy. From Dogtooth Tuna to Mackerels, Leonard is on a mission to catch these dinosaur-like creatures while trying to avoid actual dinosaurs (sharks) from eating him along the way.

Battling the weather, currents, triple-digit-sized fish, literally testing his own physical limits by holding his breath for multiple minutes, Leonard is constantly pushing the bounds of what you think fishing is.

While Leonard pushes the envelope with his diving abilities, his editing skills paired with beautiful storytelling voiceovers and incredible edits make him stand out as a creator as well. Amassing 2.3M subs is no joke, especially with content that’s as niche as this.

If you don’t know anything about the sport of spearfishing, I highly recommend checking out Leonard’s channel. It’ll blow your mind!

[Check out Aquatic Apes]

Want to go even further? 🚀

If you’d like to keep learning about topics like the ones shared above, stick around! But more importantly, check out the links below to further your development as a creator. 😎

1. Sign up for CreatorPad

2. Join our free creator community - We just revamped our community last week. Come check it out!

3. Find a personal mentor to learn from